愛しています Love Is A Many Splendid Thing
by kaykeii
Summary: A collection of lovely moments in time. Drabble 8, Thousand. 'A thousand cranes for every time you promised,'
1. Motion

_50 themes. 50 different moments in time._

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_**1. motion**_  
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The air whirled around them as they both jumped into the air, both of them striking at the same time.

They weren't on the same team anymore. No more green spandex clad teammate and sensai to accompany them. However, they both knew that everything would be alright, as long as they had each other.

Tenten's anbu mask was lying on the ground, as her chocolate brown hair was swirling around her. The two of them fell to the ground.

"Did I get you this time, Neji?"

His lilac eyes focused on her, and he shook his head.

"I really thought I improved though, I guess I'm just too tired. I think we should get back to the compound now," she simply replied as she dusted herself off.

He took a step toward her and circled his arms around her waist as he buried his face in her neck, inhaling the vanilla scent she gave off.

"You only think you haven't improved, because I've improved alongside you," he mumbled into her neck, earning a stifled giggle from Tenten.

He trailed his mouth to her ear and growled in a husky voice, "Let's go home."

Neji stepped back, taking her hand in his, and holding on tightly. Feeling the ring on her hand rubbing against his fingers.

God how he loved her.

He looked down at her, his dark hair falling and creating a curtain around them.

"I love you," he exclaimed before he captured her lips with his, pinning her against a tree with his strong arms.

The two of them both knew that they would have to go home soon.

Tenten pushed him, and smiled at him.

"We really must get going Neji."

With that, the two of them took off through the forest, moving quickly and smoothly.

They both loved each other, and they both knew that their lives would continue each day.

Living in motion, and moving together at the same time.


	2. Cool

_Been so long since I've written something funny. I guess it's Christmas related too. Yes, I know that this drabble is a bit confusing, as I had trouble relating it to the theme 'cool'.  
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_**2. cool  
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The sun had barely come up, and yet Neji, Tenten and Lee were all training at their old training grounds. They weren't a team anymore, but they were still best friends.

Tenten and Neji were sparring together, and yet somehow Neji managed to whisper sweet nothings into her ear whenever they were close enough.

Gai sensai wasn't there, he was too busy training his new team of genin an important lesson - 'How To Be Fashionable'. Apparently, it wasn't really working well.

They were all sweaty and dirty, and none of them seemed to notice the clouds overhead, and the chilly wind blowing in their faces.

"Got ya!" Tenten screamed, as she placed her kunai underneath Neji's chin. She was panting for breath, and Neji had pinned her to a tree.

"Almost," was all he mumbled before leaning down to kiss her. He placed one hand on her chin, while the other had a kunai pointing at her back. Of course, the two of them tossed them to the ground the moment their lips touched.

Who was Neji to resist his wife, when she was basically moaning for him? Technically, panting, but who gives a damn anyways.

Lee had stopped mid-training when he heard some rather inappropriate sounds coming from his former teammates. Or rather, some moaning from Tenten, and some growling from Neji.

"My dear Neji, how could you taint our youthful blossom here?" Lee shouted, as he pointed 'menacingly' at the two of them.

Tenten's shirt was ripped now, most likely because of Neji. The moment Neji heard Lee's voice, he stopped and turned towards him.

"In case you've forgotten Lee, Tenten is _my wife," _he growled back at Lee, whose eyebrows were wiggling like mad.

It was at that moment in time, that they all looked up towards the sky. Something was falling - no not the sky was all Neji said to Lee.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked a shivering Tenten.

There was snow falling from the sky, like little pieces of fluff. The three of them just stood there, watching the snow fall, and listening to the world around them.

"It's very cool," whispered Lee, as he caught a snowflake in his hand.

That moment was cherished by all of them. They all knew that they would be a team, always.

That cool air, reminded them that they loved each other, because for once, they were actually silent - together.

"Man, are you cool," mumbled Tenten as her loving husband slid across the ice in an attempt to hit Lee back with a snowball.


	3. Young

_Where does the time go? I'm starting to miss my childhood. -o-  
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_**3. young**

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They were so young the very first time they met. It was before the two of them found out they were on the same team. In fact, it was exactly the day before they were assigned teams at Konoha academy.

"Wow Tenten! You're amazing, could you teach me how to do that?"

There was a crowd of children screaming and shouting in the middle of the playground. Neji couldn't help it as he started to walk over towards them. After all, he was only a kid.

"Come on Tenten!" shouted the screaming little children. Oh, how they annoyed the hell out of Neji.

As Neji approached the small crowd of children, he saw a very peculiar sight in front of him. Somebody was standing in the middle of this crowd, get this, _juggling kunai._

Neji thought he was the only one who was skilled enough to handle kunai like that. What surprised him the most though, was that it was a girl.

A girl who unlike other girls their age, had her brown hair tied up lazily into two buns atop her head. She was dressed in blue pants, and a pink shirt, with dirt all over her.

Who did she think she was, showing off like that for everybody? He could have done the same thing, if it wasn't for the fact that we was just too damn shy.

Neji, along with his Hyuuga pride bursting out of his chest, stalked over to Tenten and cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention.

Tenten immediately stopped juggling the kunai, turned to look at Neji, and cocked her head to one side.

"What do you want?" demanded an irritated little girl.

Neji noticed that the crowd had somehow vanished from thin air. How strange, he thought.

"You know, you may think you're very talented, but I could juggle kunai Ten times longer then you could."

He couldn't help but notice that one of her eyebrows went up as he spoke.

Now usually, Neji didn't dare speak to any female at Konoha academy. They already stalked him and declared their love to him every day, which is exactly what Neji thought was going to happen. Boy was he in for more disappointment.

"Whatever," was all she said, as she picked up her kunai and walked _away _from Neji.

Neji's lilac colored eyes widened in surprise. Her eyes were supposed to be replaced with large hearts, and she should have giggled and tried to hug him. What kind of a girl was she?

After standing there for another five minutes, Neji turned around and went back to the Hyuuga compound, where he had a nice little dream about a nice little girl.

However, the next day proved to be much better than the dream he had.

You see, everyone was getting assigned a team today, and one little boy had hoped to be on the same team as a special someone. Translation; Neji had a little crush on Tenten.

"Now, I will state the three students who will be assigned with Gai sensai! Don't even try to complain, whine or pout," obviously Iruka sensai had gone through this before.

Neji inwardly hoped he wouldn't be stuck with a man who had such big eyebrows. And why was Gai sensai winking at him?

"Rock Lee! Neji Hyuuga! Tenten! You three will be a team from now on! Good luck," and with that, the three of them stepped forward and followed their new sensai to their new training grounds.

That afternoon, Hiashi was wondering why Neji was walking around smiling and mumbling, "She's on my team!"

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"You guys ready?" asked a 17 year old Tenten.

Neji, Lee and Tenten alongside their sensai were getting ready to battle their enemies once again.

They all nodded, and with a final 'YOSH!', they all rushed forward to attack.

Neji kept an eye on Tenten throughout the whole battle, even though he knew that she was as capable of fighting as he was. He just wanted to watch her.


	4. Last

_At Last, another drabble. Wow, don't you just love my corny and sarcastic humor? o 3 o_

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_**4. last**

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He was dripping wet from the rain falling outside, creating a rhythmic sound to his ears as he ran through the forest. He ran for his life, and her life.

If only he hadn't left her all alone, so vulnerable, his most prized possession is what she is to him. He made the wrong decision.

He could hear screaming surrounding him, the blood dripping everywhere, keeping in time with the rain drops. He started to run faster.

At last, he made it. He stood there in the doorway, his hair dripping water and his eyes filled with agony at the sight before him.

"Don't come any closer Neji," came the faint whisper from Tenten, lying on the floor. She didn't want him to see her crying.

He ignored her, and slowly walked towards her while he left drops of water on the carpet.

"You're safe," he mumbled to himself.

Neji managed to kneel down beside her, pick her up, and lay her down on the bed. She wasn't hurt in any way, but he could still see the tears falling down her face. His eyes were filled with even more agony.

He hated to see her cry. It ripped his heart in two, and knowing that he was the cause of her pain made it even worse. She was all he had.

"Tell me what's wrong Tenten," he whispered into her ear, his hands brushing against her cheeks and her body.

"I thought you left me. I thought that you would never come back to me, until now," she managed to reply, while she tried her best to wipe away the tears.

She didn't know whether or not they were falling because she was happy, or sad. Or maybe both.

"It's okay now, I'm here and I will never leave you again. I promise," his voice echoed in her ear, and she let herself melt into his arms.

He was here, at last.


	5. Wrong

_How long has it been? Forgive me, I've been busy. Meanwhile, enjoy this drabble._

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_**5. wrong**

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The wind was blowing viciously in the air, the trees swaying in the wind, and the sound of leaves crunching against everything. It was cold, too cold.

They had made a bet, a good one at that. You see, Neji and Tenten have been together for quite a while now, but they weren't married (Unfortunetly the sounds coming from the room they shared at the Hyuuga Compound said otherwise).

Now on the other side of the bet, was Lee. Who cared for his teammates too much, and thought that they should have gotten married a long time ago.

And so, here we are.

"Neji, my beloved teammate, you had better offer the diamond of love to our beautiful blossom before someone else bestows the white lily of love on her!" shouted Lee, one day.

Neji hadn't understood a word, and Lee had simply received an icy glare. A moment later, he found himself standing outside of the compound, with maids desperately trying to keep him out.

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"That was my only nightgown too Neji," Tenten barely managed to whine, before her lips were busy again.

Neji was busy all day training with Hiashi, while Tenten tried to help the cooks in the kitchen. The Hyuuga compound ended up ordering takeout for dinner.

The moment Hiashi had said that they were done training for the day, he had gone on a hunt for_ his_ Tenten.  
What he needed now was to be in bed. With Tenten, _all night long._

Neji couldn't help but notice that Tenten only gave half attempted protests as he pinned her to their bed.

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Neji woke up to find Tenten snuggling deeper into his chest, and in his arms.  
She smelled like vanilla, not the ice-cream, but the lovely beautiful scent of vanilla.  
Although he wouldn't mind acting like she was an ice-cream cone, his own personal flavor.

It was at that moment that Lee's annoying voice popped into his head.

_"Neji, my beloved teammate, you had better offer the diamond of love to our beautiful blossom before someone else bestows the white lily of love on her!"_

He closed his eyes in frustration, he shouldn't listen to Lee, right?

His gaze turned to Tenten, her brown hair in very loose ponytails on either side of her head. She was beautiful, and he had a sick feeling that the boys of Konoha thought so too.

Tenten woke up to find a certain Hyuuga glaring down at her with his Hyuuga pride and jealousy. She closed her eyes again, hoping to go back to sleep.  
Meanwhile, Neji was imagining how he would kill all of the boys who dared to even look at _his _Tenten. His arms tightened around her.

Wait a second, he thought. What if one her fanboys really did propose to her? No, what was he thinking, Tenten would never marry anyone else except him. She was his after all, damn it.

Neji had flashbacks of all the times Tenten had yelled at him, and said how selfish he was. Or how he seemed to have no emotions sometimes.

That was it, he growled to himself. He was going to make sure Tenten was going to be his forever.

He rolled over, until Tenten's body was so close to his underneath him, he had to growl into her ear.

Tenten woke up immedietly, and noticed the lust in his eyes.

She moaned as his lips kissed along her throat, along her jaw, all the way up to her lips, and devoured them. His hands were hitting all of her weak spots that only he knew about.

Before she knew it, she heard a faint whisper from him, a question. She froze.

"What?" she mumbled, and pushed him away.

Neji stared down at her, taking her hand slowly, and said it again. Two simple words, that made Tenten's heart flutter around like a butterfly trying to break free.

"Marry me."

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"What the hell are you doing here?" growled a half naked Neji, with only a bed sheet covering the bottom half of his body. His hair was worn loose, and his eyes narrowed at the visitor.

"My dear Neji, how lovely it is to see you! Where is your wife, might I ask? Dear, dear Neji, one night of being your wife and she's already run away?" Lee teased his former team mate.

This only got him an even deadlier glare.

"I am glad I was able to be of help in your quest to capture the lily of hope!" Lee exclaimed, and he winked at Neji.

Something strange happened.  
Instead of recieving another glare from Neji, he recieved an amused smile.

"I was right to listen to you for once Lee. I was wrong to insult you for your rare, but wise words. Now get the hell out of here." was all Neji said, before he slammed the hotel door in Lee's face.

Lee smiled and walked away. Team Gai wouldn't feel the same now, but seeing Neji happy for once was worth it. Plus, he learned a worthwhile lesson too.

Don't expect much of a conversation when you interrupt a couple's honeymoon.

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Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Kiba were busy.

"I told you he was going to propose sooner or later," mumbled Shikamaru, as he took the money out of Kiba's hand.


	6. Gentle

_Sometimes it's nice to have someone who loves you so much. Enjoy._

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**6. gentle  
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He never knew what being gentle was all about. He never felt the warmth or comfort of a helpful hand, or a kiss to help the bruise heal.

Whenever he fell, or was training too hard, there was only a maid to help him. She only helped him out of pity, and because she was paid to do so. There was never someone to help him because they loved him.

Until now.

It was nothing serious at all, he had simply been distracted and didn't notice the kunai flying towards him. The scent of steel, dirt and sweat came flying along with it.

Training with Tenten always distracted him. He couldn't help it, but something that radiated from her, kept his gaze on her. Or maybe it was the way she licked her lips every five minutes, to keep them from getting dry.

Either way, he was injured. Only a scratch, but that didn't keep Tenten from dropping to the ground and rushing over to him.

Her anbu outfit was tight, and small. The black cloth only made her look even smaller, and curvier. Her hair was tied into two very loose ponytails on either side of her head.

Neji couldn't help but stare as she bounced, no what was he thinking, jogged over to him.

He was still standing there, while blood dripped from the scratch on his arm. Both of their anbu masks lay forgotten on the ground.

"Are you ok, Neji? How did you get hit, I'm never able to get you!" Tenten exclaimed, as she took out her first aid kit from her anbu pouch.

He didn't reply, instead he made a move to grab the white cloth in her hands, but she was too quick for him.

"It's ok, I can do it myself," growled Neji, his gaze stuck on her mouth.

For a moment, Neji thought he saw a flash of sadness in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by her stubborn attitude. She grabbed the white bandage from his hands.

"You're going to let me bandage you, or else I'll slice another kunai through your arm," she stubbornly replied, and took out some herbal ointment.

The moment the ointment hit his wound, he tensed and hissed through his teeth. It stung as if Tenten really had sliced his arm off.

"What the hell kind of herbs are those?" he growled at her, as her brown hair dangled in her eyes.

She narrowed her brown eyes at him, and tugged the bandage so tight around his arm, he hissed in pain once more.

"You do realize you're causing me even more pain, don't you?" he growled again, except he hesitated afterwards.

It was with Tenten's short reply, that he understood why she didn't care if the ointment or the bandage hurt or not.

"As long as you get better, I don't give a damn," she haughtily replied, and jogged back over to the other side of the field.

He didn't know what it was that suprised him more, the fact that he finally realized she loved him, or the rip in her shirt that revealed a little too much skin.


	7. One

_will you be my special one? Thanks for being there for me, everyone._

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**7. One**

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It was Valentines day. It used to be no big deal for Neji. That is, until he realized he had fallen in love with a female ninja in Konoha.

Hiashi knew what was going on the minute he saw Neji trying to cut a heart out of construction paper, but failing each time. It's hard to cut perfect curves at age 6, you know.

"Perhaps you ought to buy a card instead of making one, Neji," Hiashi exclaimed as he placed a warm cup of tea in front of his nephew.

After another unsuccessful attempt at cutting out a perfect heart, Neji replied by throwing the pair of scissors in his direction.

"I want my valentine to be the best one! Tenten wouldn't approve of a store-bought one," Neji grumbled, and pouted with his arms crossed.

Neji worked restlessly for the rest of the afternoon, while Hiashi was trying to figure out what kind of girl could have possibly affected his nephew so much. Neji was so busy with his valentine card, he had forgotten to comb his hair that morning, and Neji **never **forgot to comb his hair.

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However, while Neji was trying to figure out what a heart actually looked like, the rest of the boys in Konoha got busy themselves.

"My valentines card is way better than yours! I put a cherry blossom on mine," bragged a young Uchiha.

The group of tiny, six year old boys were huddled outside in the empty training grounds, showing off a variety of pink and red cards made for the six year old girls of Konoha.

"HAH! I'm giving Hinata a cup of ramen with my card!" boasted a young, blonde Naruto.

Soon enough, the large group of little boys were fighting and shouting at each other, their valentines cards getting wrinkled in the process.

However, the fight was stopped by the loud sound of a whistle. The little boys froze in their places as they turned their tiny heads to see a group of older boys smirking back at them.

They were only one year older than the little kids, but the older boys seemed to think that they were bigger and better.

"You little kids may think that you're valentine cards are the best, but our valentine cards are even better! Tenten will finally be ours, MUAHAHAHAHAHA!" exclaimed a crazy brown haired boy.

The group of boys standing behind him laughed in unison as they flashed their cards for the younger boys to see. The cards came in a variety of different sharp, weapon shapes, but they all had one thing in common - mini heart shaped candies were clumsily glued on.

Out of nowhere, Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, Lee, Shikamaru, and the rest of the younger boys burst into laughter. The Tenten fanclub didn't take the laughter very well.

One of the boys with black, curly hair shouted and pointed at Choji, "What are you laughing at, chubby? Listen here, Tenten will be ours when she gets a glimpse of these cards!"

Choji choked on his laughter as he replied, "G-g-ood luck with that! Neji w-will c-crush you before you can g-g-g-ive it to her!"

The Tenten fanclub didn't seem fazed at this remark, however, and they stormed off to hand deliver their cards to Tenten.

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One last thing to glue on, and he was done. Tenten was going to love his valentines card. It was pink and covered with glitter, making it shine and shimmer in the sunlight. It had lace covered edges and a picture of a kunai on the front.

It wasn't the best, but it was something Neji had made himself.

As Neji delicatley put the valentines card inside a paper bag, he stood up and left to go find Tenten, but what he didn't expect, was to find a whole group of boys crowded around the entrance to Tenten's apartment.

"What are you doing here?" Neji demanded coldy.

The throng of little boys, who were not even old enough to know what hormones were yet, whirled around in unison to see who had disturbed them.

Almost all of the little boys winced as they recognized Neji, but one little brown haired, and might I add, puny, boy was brave enough to step towards Neji.

"We're the official Tenten fanclub, and we're here to deliver our valentine cards to Tenten, personally!" he exclaimed, as he raised his arm to show off the red card he was holding.

If the throng of little boys had been smarter, they would have run away the moment Neji's eyes had flashed with anger. Then again, boys will be boys, not including Hyuuga's of course.

And so the violence began.

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A few hours later, Tenten was sitting in her room, polishing her weapons when something floated through her open window.

As Tenten read, she couldn't help but smile lovingly, and laugh out loud to her empty bedroom.

It was a card, and Tenten didn't need to read the name to know who it was from. It had a picture of Lee getting pants'd by Naruto on the back.


	8. Thousand

_A thousand is more than a number. It's a promise._

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**8. thousand**

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The sharp corners of a square piece of paper can put you off. The corners are like the exterior of a person.

Yet the surface is as smooth as silk and velvet running along your fingertips. The pastel color reminds you of your childhood.

A single piece of origami paper can do many things. It can be folded a hundred different ways.

"Are you still folding those silly things Tenten?"

Sakura sighed and left the small waiting room, closing the door softly behind her.

The room used to be white, and bare, just like Neji's eyes.

That is, until she filled the room with colorful origami cranes of all different sizes.

Tenten's heart thumped heavily, her head aching with the repetitive sounds of sobs, and cries coming from outside.

She wasn't the only one who had a loved one being treated on.

As Tenten pulled the wings of the crane out, it sprang into life as it took its place as the thousandth crane in the room.

"You promised me you would come back to me Neji. A thousand cranes for every time you promised me you would,"

The salty tears slowly trailed their way down her face, as a breeze fluttered through the open window.

The thousand cranes drifted around the room, swirling around her as she sat there wishing and waiting.


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